Tips to Care for Your Oven

Be sure doors close tightly so no heat escapes. Guard against broken door hinges and cracks that allow heat to escape by carefully cleaning all crumbs and encrusted matter from around opening.

Ovens last longer and operate at maximum efficiency when regularly cleaned. Encrusted bottoms and linings destroy sheet metal. Do not allow caustic cleaning agents to get on the thermostat tube.

Wait until the oven is cool and then clean up boilovers and spillovers promptly before they have time to carbonize. Use a damp cloth to wipe the bottom and linings. Don't pour water on the decks to cool them.

Avoid slamming or standing on the oven doors

Maintain oven seals - Make sure the seals around oven doors are in good shape, and seal snuggly with the face of the stove. Worn or loose-fitting seals allow heat from the oven to escape.

Clean out debris at the stove bottom, especially in the front where the door seal meets the stove. The accumulated material can prevent the door from sealing well.

Place casters on all your kitchen equipment so you can move equipment for cleaning and sanitation.

Types Of Ovens

Combi ovens - Combi ovens are like three units in one: a pressure less steamer, convection oven and convection oven with steam injection. You can choose the cooking method that meets your cooking needs rather than scheduling around the limitations of the equipment.

Use the convection oven for baking, roasting and broiling;
Pressure less steam for vegetables, eggs, seafood and gentle reheating. Combi mode for crusty breads, juicy meats, poultry, fish, and baked dishes. (Caution: Open door slowly after steaming to prevent burns.)

Cleaning:
Flush system daily to maintain steam generator
Chemicals may be applied to cavity as needed (rinse thoroughly before resuming operation)
Cavity is self draining, flush thoroughly as needed
Clean exterior and glass as with other appliances

Conventional ovens - conventional ovens heat from the bottom. As the heat rises, it creates different temperature areas within the oven. The hottest area is at the top, the Center is moderate while the coolest part is at the bottom of the oven.

Convection ovens - Convection ovens use fans to circulate hot air around food as it cooks. The motion of the air increases the rate at which heat is transferred to the food. As a result, convection ovens cook more quickly and at lower temperatures to achieve the same result as conventional ovens.

Lower temperatures for recipes written for a conventional or deck oven. (If the product cooks or browns too quickly around the edges, lower the temperature.)

Cleaning:
Wipe wet spills promptly
Loosen dry spills with spatula or wire brush
Carbonize hard spills with salt at 500 degrees F
Use detergent solution, rinse and cloth dry

Conveyor Ovens - Conveyor ovens move food products through a heated chamber at a constant speed. A high-speed fan distributes heat.

Conveyor ovens work the same as convection or conventional ovens, except conveyor ovens will cook products much more consistently. Convey ovens are ideal for pizza establishments, as well as commercial bakeries.

Because of intense temperatures, conveyor ovens generally will bake, reheat and finish food products two to four times faster than conventional ovens.

Once you have determined proper temperature and conveyor speed settings, you can expect consistent cooking results with no undercooking or overcooking, and minimal waste.

Because heat zones and speed can be controlled, they're ideal for custom jobs such as browning cheese on entrees, or on French onion soup.

Conveyor ovens save space too. Up to three decks can be stacked.

Flash bake ovens – Flash bake ovens use a combination of intense visible light from halogen bulbs and infrared energy to cook food. This produces the browning effect of conventional ovens but it cooks almost twice as fast. Unlike conventional ovens, it isn't™t necessary to leave these ovens on during non cooking times to maintain oven temperature. They only operate when actual cooking is taking place – no preheating is needed. Because of these advantages, Flashbake ovens are being used in commercial kitchens to increase productivity.

Pizza / deck -These are high-production gas ovens in which pans of food are placed directly on the hearth for baking. Usually two or more decks are stacked to provide greater capacity and versatility in the same floor space. Deck heights vary to accommodate special cooking needs: Pizza deck, 6 to 7"; back deck, 7 to 8", roast deck, 12 to 20".

Pizza / deck ovens have a high Btu input and higher temperature controls.

Revolving oven - Revolving ovens use a ferris wheel type assembly to rotate trays within the oven cavity. Trays revolve on pivot mounts attached to two wheels that rotate; food is loaded on the trays as they pass the opening.

Rack / tray oven - Items to be cooked in rack ovens are placed in pans, or on trays, and then rolled into Oven. After cooking, the racks are rolled out and moved to an unloading station. These ovens are available in a variety of sizes and capacities to suit more applications. They are capable of producing thousands of identical products or many diverse menu items quickly in the same cooking cavity

BBQ / rotisserie oven - Dependable and energy-efficient, gas rotisseries offer a unique opportunity to simultaneously cook and display a variety of foods. The constant turning and even heat exposure preserves moisture. This cooking method, when combined with your signature sauce or seasoning, will bring customers back again and again.

Tips for efficient use of ovens

Whenever possible, try to schedule oven use so that it will be full.

Preheat to exact temperature, for only the amount of time recommended by the manufacturer oven to capacity to reduce operating costs.

With large ovens, plan baking and roasting so you won't have to bring the oven to full heat more than once or twice.

Use slow roasting to reduce meat shrinkage and save gas. The results will be juicier, more attractive and tastier food.

Use a meat thermometer for accuracy.

When using a convection oven, cook with the fan on at all times.

Use the right kind of pan for the job, with proper air flow around pans.

For good baking results, make sure your oven is level.

Use temperature guides and timers to avoid unnecessarily opening doors. Don't use two ovens when one will do.

Turn oven off when not in use.